


Listen to your Bro

by moonlight_petal



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Bozer is a Good Bro, Caring Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), Concussions, Confessions, Confused Angus MacGyver, First Kiss, Fluff, Good Friend Wilt Bozer (MacGyver TV 2016), Heart to Hearts, M/M, Scared Angus MacGyver, Wise Wilt Bozer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 18:30:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlight_petal/pseuds/moonlight_petal
Summary: Wilt Bozer knows his friend better than he does himself.And Bozer knows a whole lot about love and what ifs and of other stuff.He rarely has to share that knowledge though.But when after a mission-gone-sideways Jack suddenly prefers to stay away, he has to confront Mac with said knowledge. Seriously, listen to your bro, Mac!





	Listen to your Bro

**Author's Note:**

> So, after several stories in this fandom without romance, I tried my hand at this... not entirely sure how happy I'm with it. I mean, I kind of like how it came out for a quick one afternoon work, but well... I had one specific sentence stuck in my head for days now and needed to get it out plus, I suppose this is me missing Jack like crazy already.  
> Anyway, please enjoy this rather cheesy tale about Mac and Jack's relationship with friendly support by Bozer.  
> Let me know what you think, yeah? Reading your comments makes me really happy.

Jack groaned under his breath when he checked the time as he drove away from the location of their latest escapade. They missed exfil. Again. The whole thing had taken longer than expected and their intel had been as shady as the guys they had been dealing with.

 

Jack's jaw hurt and his knuckles were bleeding sluggishly. One look to his right told him that Mac wasn't better off by much. He wasn't bleeding as far as the older could tell, but given the pale -paler than usual- complexion and the scrunched up forehead, he reckoned Mac definitely took a substantial number of hits in the stomach and the head. Not that the kid complained but Jack knew Mac long enough to read him like a book, at least when it came to injury estimation, not so much the other stuff. Jack doubted there were many people who truly understood how Mac's big brain really worked.

 

"You doing okay? You're awefully quite..." he asked, his voice carefully soft. A quick nod and a silent grunt was his reply and Jack interpreted it as _No, I'm not, Jack but there is nothing we can do about that now. Just drive, I want to go home._

 

He made a soft noise in understanding and put his foot down a little more. They were a few states away from home. That drive would suck.

 

"Hey, I'm stopping for gas and to call Matty, you want anything? Something to drink, a snack or something?" Jack asked about an hour later when he was reasonably sure that really no one was following them after all.

 

Mac groaned a bit but blinked his slightly hazy baby blues open. Well that about confirmed Jack's guess of the blows to the head.

"Some water would probably be good..." he murmured. "And some ibuprofen?" he smiled wrily.

 

Jack chuckled softly.

"The water I can do, I doubt they have pain meds at the gas station though, sorry buddy. But I'll see what I can do, you just lean back and rest alright?"

 

He left the car and tried to switch on his phone. And failed. He should have known, the one time Mac had built one of his genius contraptions without cannibalising his phone, the bad guys managed to trash it. He knew Mac's didn't work anymore because they had fried it when he triggered his distraction remotely.

 

Retrospectively Jack probably should have checked his phone a lot earlier already. They had no comms, Mac's phone was dead, so he should have been the last option left to get in contact with the others. Which they couldn't. Jack could only imagine the chaos that would have sent Matty and the others into. He felt bad about that, he really did, but it was late, it was a long mission, they hadn't properly slept in over 48 hours and both of them weren't exactly firing on all cylinders.

 

So he made his way inside to pay for the gas and the bottles of water he picked up and asked if he could use the phone for a moment. The kid at the counter -barely legal if at all- pointed Jack to the payphone in the corner.

 

"Jack?" Riley picked up on the second ring, hurried and worried obviously.

"Hey darling, how did you know? I thought I could surprise you by calling from a public phone..." he said, making it sound like he was just calling a loved one and telling his friends at the same time that this definitely wasn't a secure line.

 

The hacker obviously caught on and by the  suddenly more tinny quality of the connection Jack supposed he was on speaker now.

"Who else would call at this time of night? Where are you?"

 

"Oh still a long drive out. We missed our flight because Mr Genius managed to hit his head pretty hard, but we still wanted to be there in time so we rented a car to drive. It'll take a while but I think we should be there soon enough anyway."

 

"Sounds rough, how is he?" that was Bozer and Jack could here the strain in his voice to at least make it sound mostly conversational.

 

"Ah you know, a bit rattled, probably a little concussed, but nothing too bad..." he replied.

 

"And how are you doing?" Matty and if Jack didn't know better he would say she sounded genuinely concerned.

 

"Nice of you to ask but I'm mostly fine, some superficial scratches... that's what you get for trying to break someone elses fall, you know... other than that, tired but looking forward to seeing you all again, so I'll power through the drive." Jack glanced at the kid at the counter who looks like he was occupied with stacking new packs of cigarettes into the rack behind him but Jack wasn't convinced that he wasn't listening. And he had noticed that he had been glancing at his bloody knuckles when Jack paid.

 

"Really, you shouldn't be driving when you're tired. Why don't you check into a motel for the night and get some sleep and I book you another flight in the morning for the remaining distance." Riley again and Jack could hear her typing in the background. He was pretty sure that by now she had traced back the call and knew exactly where he was.

 

"Yes, she's right. Get some rest and keep an eye on our boy, we wouldn't want you to crash the car just because you fell asleep at the wheel." Matty again and this time it didn't sound that concerned anymore. Jack wouldn't admit it but that was a relief to him. Matty was back in bossy mode, that meant she had the situation under control again and everything would be fine. Not that he had doubted that it wouldn't be for a second.

 

"Yeah... yeah alright, you win. We'll do just that then. Any chance you could give it a quick google search how far away the next motel is? We're at a gas station..." Jack gave the best description he could, not that Riley needed it and soon got the info he needed back. "Alright, then we'll make our way there and stay the night. In that case, talk to you later."

 

"Drive safe and rest well. The plane leaves at tweve tomorrow." Riley added the name of the airport and from the name alone, Jack knew that this would be a privet Phoenix jet flight.

 

"Perfect, thank you, darling! You're the best! See you lot tomorrow!" he ended the call and went back to the car.

 

He relayed the new plan to Mac who just nodded slightly and took careful sips from the water. But by the way Jack saw his shoulders relax a little bit more, he knew Mac was glad not to spend the night in the car.

 

**

 

The motel Riley had told him about wasn't far away at all, which was lucky. And judging by the 'Vacancy' sign outside, they were also in luck to get a room.

 

Jack parked the car and together they entered the foyer. Mac was a little wobbly on the feet, so Jack made sure to have a steady hand on his back and have him leaning against the wall while he went to get the room.

 

A woman with bleach blond, curly hair looked way to excited and perky for Jack's taste, considering that it was way past midnight.

 

"A double, I suppose? You're lucky, there's just one left..." she smiled while she typed in all the -false- information Jack fed her. Her gaze trailed to Mac. "Is your... friend... alright?" she asked and the older wondered about the emphasis on 'friend' for a second, dismissed it then in favour of hopefully quickening the process.

 

"Yeah, just a rough night, had one drink to many..." he smirked a little.

 

The woman 'ooh'-ed knowingly before directing Jack to their room and handed him the key.

 

 

Somewhat bitter understanding flooded Jack when they entered the room and were face by a 'not exactly double' double bed. So that's what the girl had been hinting at with her 'friend' comment. Oh well...

 

"Alright, kiddo, lie down and get some proper rest, you need it. I'll take the chair and keep an eye on you. How's the head?" Jack wanted to know.

 

Mac looked a little lost at the bed and then at Jack, then the bed again.

"I can sleep on the chair, too..." he said softly.

 

The older one chuckled.

"I'm sure you can, Mac. But right now, you're the concussed one out of the two of us, you don't need a crick in the neck to top it off, go lie down. Besides you haven't answered my question."

 

"Yeah my head hurts, no surprise there, right?" Mac grumbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed, kicking off his shoes, before lying down, still right at the edge of the bed. Slowly he blinked back at Jack, who was still standing at the door. For a second, Jack imagined something like longing spark in the kid's eyes, which was ridiculous. "You know, the bed might not be properly big but we could fit both, no need for you to get a crick in the neck either." he said after a while.

 

Jack hesitated, not entirely sure why. It wouldn't be the first time they slept in such close quarters, it was kind of stupid to hesitate the way he did. Mac didn't think anything of it so Jack, of all people, shouldn't either.

 

"Yeah alright, you and your clever brain are right as always..." he finally agreed, slowly lying down next to Mac, studiously ignoring the shift in Mac's breathing. That was probably the concussion too, Jack told himself.

 

"It's been a while since a mission went weird like that..." Mac murmured after a while and the older agent was surprised because he had been convinced that Mac was already asleep.

 

"True... usually they go off without a hitch or they go south like hell, this weird in between, that's not our usual affair..." Jack admitted.

 

"Well, I'm glad my plan worked and we both got out in time..." the blond murmured again after a while.

 

"And I'm glad that you used your own phone for once, not that it did mine any good, it's still broken... which is even worse I suppose, when you use it, at least it dies in the line of duty..." he replied and Jack knew that his tired mind was catching up to him, replaying his rather silly answer in his head.

 

But Mac chuckled at that, a soft and happy giggle that lightened up Jack's mood though.

 

"True... but I prefer your phone dying in the line of duty to you, you know? I'm glad you're always there, having my back, I can't imagine it any different anymore." the younger one slowly turned to his side and looked at his partner.

 

Jack turned his head, watching his friend with a soft smile.

"You better, I don't intend to leave you if I can help it, so don't you try anything stupid like sending me away or something. I like you in one piece and I'd like to keep you this way!" he said, reaching over to softly ruffle Mac's hair.

 

The blond smiled softly, leaned a little into the touch, closing his eyes.

"I'll try... but, it's the same for me... I'd like to keep you in one piece as well..." he admitted after a while, blinking his eyes open again, a slight shudder running down his spine. "Because... I like you, Jack... a lot..." he added in a soft murmur, his eyes slowly sliding shut again.

 

The older man winced a little at those words, knowing all too well how Mac meant them, even if they didn't sound like that. And yet he had to make sure, the gentle flicker of hope still in his heart.

"Is that you or the concussion talking, kid?" he whispered back in case Mac had already fallen asleep.

 

He didn't as it turned out.

"Mmh... both... probably..." the younger mumbled, shifting closer and unconsciously cuddled up to Jack's side, drawn in by the comfortable warmth of the other body.

 

Jack waited a moment before he pulled Mac a little closer, pressing his nose into the blond hair for a second.

"Of course, kiddo..." 

 

Jack barely slept at all that night either, unlike Mac who seemed to sleep more peacefully than he usually did.

 

~*~

 

The journey back home the next day and the mission debrief worked just as planned. They both got checked over by the Phoenix doctor, Jack's hand got a bandage with some ointment and an order to cool his bruised jaw, while Mac got equipped with pain meds and the order to rest as much as possible for now. Bozer took it upon himself to mother-hen the blond to hell and back, so Jack took the opportunity to slip away to his own home and bed unnoticed, to finally get some rest and regroup after the previous night.

 

They did not talk about their short conversation and for all Jack knew, Mac didn't really remember any of it which suited him just fine because it meant that he could pretend that it didn't happen either.

 

However, Mac did remember every second of it, even more than Jack knew because when the older had assumed Mac had already been asleep, he had still been awake enough to hear and feel Jack's actions.

 

To make matters worse, it seemed like Jack avoided Mac. Over the following few days that Mac had been put on recovery at home, the older man only briefly came by to check on him, left the rest to Bozer. That was new, even Bozer had to admit.

 

"Man, did you two have a fight or something? It's weird that we've been here alone for so long..." normally, when something like that happened, Jack had taken up mostly permanent residence on their sofa in the living room.

 

"Nope, no fight, definitely no fight..." the blond said, his fingers worrying a paperclip that Bozer had handed him when he noticed that Mac was about to disassemble his blender for no reason other than to have something to do.

 

"Alright... that doesn't sound suspicious at all, bro... so what did you 'definitely not fight' about then?" Bozer ask, leaning against the kitchen counter, one eyebrow curiously raised.

 

Mac looked up at his friend, then back at his fingers.

"I... well, you see, I wasn't exactly thinking straight, it's really difficult to have a handle on your emotions when you're sleep deprived and concussed..." he said softly, voice turning almost inaudible. "... and lying in the same bed..."

 

Bozer replayed the sentence in his head several times, wondering if he understood correctly. He took a step closer, leaning forward so he was able to look at Mac's face.

"What did you do?" he wanted to know, curious, amused and just a tiny bit gleeful.

 

"I might have told him that I like him..." Mac admitted.

 

With a huff, Bozer leaned back against the counter again.

"Seriously, that's all? Bro, you tell each other pretty much on a daily basis that you like each other, if it wasn't so heart-warming it would easily be annoying as fuck. What's the deal this time? I don't think Jack has been away for this long in forever. You sure there wasn't more to this?"

 

"You don't understand, I think it wasn't what I said but how I said it,  we were lying on the same bed, perfectly safe in that moment and afterwards I pretty much cuddled into him... and when he asked if it was me or the concussion talking, I said both... and I don't know, I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything platonic about it all... he hasn't mentioned it the next day and I think *he* thinks that I don't remember which by god, I wish I wouldn't at the moment... with all the stupid things I did, this might take the cake..." Mac rambled, crushing the paperclip in his hands.

 

Bozer however took another step closer to his best friend again, he saw an opportunity and he would be damned if he didn't use it. He had tried to get Mac to admit to his feelings for Jack since forever... he had sensed it even while Mac had been with Nikki.

 

"Alright, let me get this straight, bro. You were cuddling in the same bed and told him you like him but then blamed it on your concussion and pretended not to remember anything the next day? That's harsh, Mac. What did you expect Jack to do in this situation? It doesn't sound like you gave him much of an option here... let's be clear, you like Jack in a very unplatonic way, yeah? I would even go as far as calling it being head over heels in love with him in your very own nerdy genius way..."

 

Mac very much resembled a deer in headlights at Bozer's tirade and question.

"What... how...?" he stammered.

 

"Yeah no, if you thought that you've been hiding this from me, think again Mac. I know you almost all your life, I can see these things. And it's fine, you know? I have no problem with it, if you've been worried about that and I'm pretty sure Jack won't have one either, quite the contrary. If I hadn't been sure before, the fact that this is happening right now? Him staying away for no good reason other than avoiding you after the stunt you pulled on him? That's like a big glaring admission that he feels the same way about you but won't push you because he's scared of losing you or something." Bozer explained, confronting Mac with the facts.

 

"But what... I mean... you sure, Boze?" the blond stumbled over his own words, for once lost for words.

 

"Bro, as much as I'm enjoying your late pubertal gay panic or whatever this is, I'm really not the person you should be talking to. Tell him, now that you're both thinking straight again, you have to talk about this. Or it's going to be what will ruin your friendship at some point or other." Bozer crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking at his best friend with a determined glare.

 

"But what if..." Mac trailed off, looking forlornly at the man who was like a brother to him.

 

"What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he does but it doesn't work out? What if something happens to either of you? Which one of those is running around your brain right now? Well let me answer them all for you. One, I'm pretty sure he does feel the same and even if not, you two are so close, Jack won't let that get between you too. Worst case scenario, it works out between you two like it did between Riley and me. It hurts for a while, you keep your distance for a little bit and then you'll become even better friends. Two, I honestly don't see you two not working out, I mean without the physical fun stuff you two are pretty much married anyway. And if I should be wrong, number one applies once again. And three, that's a very real danger in your line of work Mac, but honestly if something happens to either of you, would it matter if you were together or not? It would hurt like hell either way, I imagine it just would hurt that little bit more if either of you had to live with the regret of not telling the other how you felt for the rest of your life.  There literally is no scenario here where *not* telling him would be the better option." Bozer said, voice firm but not unkind. He understood Mac like only few others did, he understood his fear of loss, of getting left behind again. He had been left, abandoned and betrayed often enough in his life that it had to leave scars behind.

 

"How do you know all this? When did you become such an expert?" Mac asked, voice small and thoughtful.

 

"Well, I've been there, remember? I mean, you probably can't compare Riley and me to Jack and you but well... that's just how love and friendship works and anyway, just trust me on this one, alright?" he pulled Mac into a gentle sidehug.

 

"I do trust you..." the blond said slowly. "Would you... would you drive me to Jack's place, please?"

 

"Sure, I can do that... although... I would recommend putting on some proper clothes, you know? Not that Jack would mind the ratty t-shirt and pyjama pants chic you've got going on there..." he grinned, not even complaining when Mac playfully punched him in the stomach for that comment.

 

~*~

 

Mac's hands were uncharacteristically sweaty when he waited in front of Jack's door, hand hovering over the door bell.

 

It took him almost five minutes, despite the pep talk he had gotten from Bozer, to actually ring the bell.

 

Jack's eyes widened in surprise when he opened the door and recognised the person in front of him.

"Mac, what are you doing here?" he asked, a frown on his face. "Did something happen?"

 

"Well, maybe, you tell me... you've been the one avoiding me..." the younger shot back, following Jack into his living room. They were silent for a second and Mac could see the muscles in Jack's shoulders tense, realising what he had said and how he said it. "Wait, stop forget I said that, that came out the completely wrong way, sorry. What I meant is, apparently something did happen that caused you to stay away from me and I'm sorry because I'm totally to blame for that. I let you believe that I didn't remember our conversation the other night at the motel and..." from the corner of his eye -because he couldn't look at Jack directly at the moment- he saw that the older man wanted to interrupt him. "... wait, please let me finish first or I'll chicken out again and I won't be able to return home again without Bozer kicking my ass. What I should have told you the day after was, I like you Jack, a lot! And that's definitely not the concussion talking but my heart. I've liked you for so long already but I had myself convinced that it's better this way, not talking about it, not burdening you with it or something. I really should have told you a lot sooner. I... I'm in love with you... I love your dorky side and your protective side... I adore the way your focus becomes razor sharp when you think about the best tactics on a mission... and the way you stick out your tongue when you play Mario Kart and lean into the direction you're steering in as if that would help... I love how you can watch 'Die Hard' for the probably thousands time as if it's the first... and... and I really could continue on like this but right now I feel like I can't breathe because I'm scared that I ruined our friendship even if Bozer said that would be impossible and..."

 

Jack listened to every word the brilliant young man in front of him said, couldn't believe it at first but with every thing he added it became more apparent that Mac was serious. He was so serious to make Jack understand how he felt that he forgot to take a breath once in a while, working himself into a rambling panic, sweaty hands shaking and slightly swaying on the spot while still not looking at the person in front of him.

It was so endearingly Mac that Jack couldn't help himself.

Mid-sentence he grabbed Mac's face gently in both his hands and pressed a kiss to his lips. It took a moment and a soft hiccup for Mac to process what was happening, to relax under Jack's hands and reciprocating the kiss.

 

It was a short kiss, gentle and unhurried before they separated again, looking in each other's eyes before Mac practically melted into Jack's tight embraces, holding on for dear life and a smile on his lips.

 

"For the record, to prevent misunderstandings, I love you too, Mac! A lot!" Jack murmured. "And we have all the time in the world to tell each other all the little things we love about each other especially!"

 

Mac hummed in appreciation but both their new mobile phones announcing incoming messages at the same time kept him from answering. He just chuckled softly as Jack grumbled.

 

"That woman and her timing will always be a mystery to me... We're not done here yet, though, just so you know!" he whispered, pressing another kiss to Mac's forehead before they disentangled from each other and checked the latest call into work. 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you were wondering, the sentence that I had stuck in my head and that triggered this story was Bozer's:  
> "Bro, as much as I'm enjoying your late pubertal gay panic or whatever this is, I'm really not the person you should be talking to."


End file.
